2 Draw and Mask

With a no. 2 pencil, draw the shapes on you paper. Using an inexpensive no. 4 round, paint masking fluid over the brightly lit areas: the sand spit near the island and the very tops of the mangroves.

3 Do a Wet-Into-Wet Underpainting

Apply clean water to the whole sheet with a 1-inch (25mm) flat. Wait for the shine to disappear, then brush on medium value washes of Quinacridone Rose, New Gamboge and Cobalt Blue. Let this underpainting dry.

4 Paint the Sky Shape

The sky shape is farthest away--everything else is in front of the sky--so it makes sense to paint the sky shape first. Mix slightly darker washes of the same colors you used in Step 1. Re-wet the sky shape and wait for the shine to disappear, then add the washes of Quinacridone Rose, New Gamboge and Cobalt Blue from left to right. Let the washes intermingle on the paper to create neutralized versions of the colors.

5 Enhance the Sky, Then Paint Forward in Space

For more drama and to better match the value plan, re-wet the whole sky, then just as the shine disappears, drop in stronger mixtures of Quinacridone Rose and Cobalt Blue with just enough New Gamboge to slightly neutralize them.

After the sky, the next closest shapes are the distant mangroves and the headland that juts in from the left and leads the eye to the focal area, the main island. Use a dark mixture of Quinacridone Rose and Cobalt Blue and a no. 6 round to paint these areas. Refer to your value plan; the distant mangroves should be quite a bit darker than the sky.

6 Add the Foreground Water

Use a 1-inch (25mm) flat to wet the entire foreground area. Run clear water right up to the edge of the distant mangrove background. Then, after allowing time for the shine to disappear, lay in a wash that is a medium-value mixture of Quinacridone Rose and Cobalt Blue. Let the warm Quinacridone Rose be dominant in your mixture around the island. As you move forward in space allow more of the Cobalt Blue to show. (While it is generally true that warm colors come forward and cool colors recede, it is not always necessary to keep warm colors in the foreground and cool colors in the background. In this case, you should use the warm colors to emphasize the island, you ca a.) While this large area is still wet, use a 1-inch (25mm) flat to lift out the sand spit that starts in the foreground and winds its way toward the focal point. Also lift out an indication water moving across the sunlit island, not the foreground.

7 Remove the Masking Fluid, Then Finish

Use clean fingers or a commercial mask remover to carefully take off the masking fluid. Make sure you remove it all.

Mix a dark violet from Quinacridone Rose and Pthalo Blue. With a no. 4 round, paint the dark shadows that fall beneath the island. Alow this to dry.

Using the same brush and mixtures of Hooker's Green, New Gamboge and Cadmium Yellow, model the foliage of the island itself. Remember that strong sunlight has a tendency to wash out color, so the closer you get to the top edge of the mangroves, the lighter the green should be. Leave a thin white edge at the very top to indicate to the viewer that the strongest light hits at that spot. The resulting value contrast will make your focal area really pop out at the viewer.